Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
1922 Minister of Health for permission to
The local authority is now the
Avondale Borough Council (from
29 April 1922 to 31 August 1927)
Mayors J W Kinniburgh 1922-23
W J Tait 1923-27
H Tiarks 1927
E Copsey 1927
Council Works Depot: After
James Binsted’s death in 1920, the
executor of his estate, Mr H
Bollard, offered the section fronting
Blake St beside the butcher’s shop,
and extending to the rear of the
Town Hall, complete with stables,
for £450 in 1922. In February, the
Board felt the price was too high,
and asked for a reconsideration.
The Board couldn’t get a lower
price, and so the matter was left.
In November, the new Borough
Council obtained option to buy the
land, and by May 1923 the land
had been bought, for £462, 10 /-. It
became the Borough Council
Depot for storing their road-making
machinery, and became the City
Council depot after 1927. By the
1970s, it was in light-industrial use.
Mr Bob Browne recalled that in the
1930s-1940s there was a big shed
near the depot housing the
council’s wood-fired steamroller,
which always had to have coal put
in before it could go out onto the
roads. [conversation, 9 May 2001]
Main sewer: One of the main
concerns in the 1920s was
drainage. In February the Roads
Board was told that the cost of a
main sewer would be £9 per head
of population, or £30 per ratepayer.
This would be prohibitive, the
Board decided, and asked the
73
have a “modified sewer”. [21/2/22
minutes]
The Avondale Progressive
League, in 1922 were not
impressed, and, “considered the
action of the Council in submitting
the drainage loan proposals a
second time, after the plans have
been approved by the Health Dept.,
and the drainage Paid, on the plea
of economy, is inconsistent when
we consider the action of the
Council in closing a road and
selling it to the Jockey Club (part of
Wicklow Avenue) without
consulting the people for the sum
of £300 requires more explanation
than has been already given to the
ratepayers.” [Borough Council minutes,
4/10/22]
Avondale Manual Training
School (Standards 5 & 6, or Forms
1 & 2) was opened on the Primary
School grounds fronting Great
North Road on 27 April. A tender
from Mt T Wilson for erecting the
school of £3585 was accepted by
the Supervisor Mr Kalaugher in
early 1921. [Avondale Roads Board
minutes, 1921, 1922]
In so many remembrances and oral
histories from past and present
residents of Avondale, the name of
Mr Burgess comes up time and
again. He was the woodwork
teacher at the Manual Training
School (which also had cooking
classes). Mr Bob Browne recalls Mr
Burgess clearly saying, almost as a
catchphrase: “Put the tools down,
you sarny yob!”
When the Avondale Intermediate
opened in 1945, Avondale Primary
lost the training school, and
“decapitated”, becoming a
Contributing School, which it is
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930

today. [Ron Oates, Avondale Primary
School, 1870-1990, 1990]
The front building of the Training
School (there were two, one behind
the other, on the left-hand side of
the Great North Road frontage)
became the Assembly Hall in
1963, after being strengthened to
satisfy concerns over building
safety. Unfortunately, it was
declared an earthquake risk in
1979 by the Education Board, and
demolished in 1981.
A sign in 1969 that read
“Assembley Hall” [sic] was
corrected by the then Headmaster.
[Ron Oates, Avondale Primary School,
1870-1990, 1990]
I have my own memories of that old
Assembly Hall. When I went to
Avondale Primary from 1968 to
1974, the old Hall was used as a
place for school performances (a
stage, with changing rooms below,
was at the western end), and to
show films. I still remember the
clatter of the old-style film reels
going through the projector, and
especially the fun when they ran
the films backwards to rewind
them!
Beside, as a separate side room,
was the lunch kitchen, where
parents (including my mother)
volunteered on roster to come in,
make up sandwiches, and fill out
the lunch orders which would come
in every morning from the classes
on little forms of white paper –
whether you wanted marmite
sandwiches, or a meat pie (my
favourite, though, were apple pies).
The Amos Grocery Store: 16/3/22
– Pages Building now owned by
Arthur William Frederick Amos,
who runs “The Spot” Cash Grocery
Store (with son) for the next 45
years. In 1937, part of the land at
the back of the shop taken for
Public Works – the telephone
exchange later completed in 1958.
His wife had worked for Page as a
secretary at Page’s Kingsland
building. Amos’ son Vic Amos later
recalled that they stocked virtually
everything. 1 lb of tea for 1/9, 70 lb
sugar for 7/6, 5 lbs of rice or dates
for 1/-. Biscuits were always loose,
customers coming in to ask for “2
or 3 of this, 2 or 3 of that.” Spices
were shovelled into a cone of paper
and weighed. Cheese came in
180lb crates, covered in cloth that
had to be soaked overnight. Bacon
came with the bone still in. Dates
came in 80lb blocks. Bran was sold
by 150lb weight. The Amos’
stocked hay, chaff, straw, and “all
manures”.
The shop had at least 6 assistants.
Vic Amos recalled his wages as
being £3 4/- per week.
Orders were collected by someone
going on horseback around to the
customers. Deliveries were by
horse and cart. The carts from time
to time would become stuck in the
roads, and had to be helped out by
another cart sent for from the shop.
The paddocks were behind the
shop, with large stables for 5
horses, all tended by Bertie
Humphries (who later went on to be
credit manager for Farmers Trading
Co.) One horse who had only one
eye (and so was called “One-Eye”)
was unruly and poorly broken in. If
something approached him from
his blind side, he would shy – and
as he was usually tied to the
customer’s gate, that would be
yanked off the hinges and come

74
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
clattering after “One-Eye” as he
bolted back to the shop.
Attached to the shop was a 3-
roomed house occupied by the
Forsyth family for a time, and then
by a tenant of the shop Mrs Parnell.
[Vic Amos recollection, Avondale Oral
History Project, tape 15, 1991]
Shaw’s shops: During the 1920s,
a Charles T Shaw had dining
rooms (later, a confectioners/dairy)
and fish-shop at 1875-1877 Great
North Road, close to the site of the
National Bank Building (now Ray
Whites). Possibly because of the
natural spring on the property that
fed a small creek running down
Rosebank Road, drainage
problems occurred in the early
1920s on the site, which Mr Shaw
apparently refused to rectify. The
Roads Board put a closing order on
the business. In February Shaw
sent notice of intention to appeal to
the Magistrates Court, but by July
agreed to rectify the drainage
problem. He continued in business
there until the business was taken
over by the Smiths in the 1930s.
[Avondale Roads Board & Borough
Council minutes, 1922]
st
Town Hall hire rates: On 1 July
1922 the new Borough Council
increased the hire rates for users of
the Town Hall.
H Empson – Pictures 20/- per
night
Defence Dept. 10/-
Concerts to 10 pm 22/6
Concerts for local benefits
15/-
Socials and Dances to 12 midnight
22/6
Socials and Dances after 12
30/-
Use of supper rooms, urns &
crockery 10/-
75
Oddfellows Lodge 10/-
Meeting of Parliamentary Electors
25/-
Public meetings of local residents
10/-
Use of Hall for Parliamentary
Polling
Booth 50/-
Saturday afternoons 5/-
Ante-room for small meetings
2/6
Bank of New Zealand office rent
1/- a week
Public Library: The Borough
Council made attempted to set up
another public library in Avondale,
as there had been in the previous
century, but one of the biggest of
the issues was space for installing
such a library. There was an idea
to ask the Postmaster for use of
one of the spare rooms in the old
Avondale Hotel building, but this
was turned down. The new manual
telephone exchange was in the
pipeline (achieved 1925) and all
available spare rooms would be
needed, so the council was
advised. [Borough Council minutes, July
1922]
Electricity: In August 1922, the
new Avondale Borough Council
altered the boundaries for the
district so as to be included in the
Auckland Electric Power district.
[Avondale Borough Council minutes, 1922]
Avondale Plunket Office: In
September the local Plunket
Society Nurse, Mrs W MacKenzie,
asked if the Society could have use
of the Town Hall’s ante-room office
vacated by the BNZ as a Plunket
Office. This was granted, and
became the first Plunket Office in
the Shopping Centre (followed in
the 1930s by one in a house at
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
1901 Great North Road, the
Racecourse Parade corner, and
then the purpose-built Plunket
rooms by the public toilet block in
the 1940s.) This lasted until 1990,
and the building of the Avondale
Community Centre in Rosebank
Road.
Binsted butchers: In 1922 the
Binsted abattoir yards in New Lynn
were closed down when the New
Lynn Borough Council took over
the land to develop it into Rewa
Park. Soon after the yards were
moved to Westfield and the Binsted
estate sold the butcher’s shop in
Avondale to Hellaby’s. [Western
Leader, 2/5/67]
Unity Building, Excelsior
Chambers: (54 and 56 Rosebank
Road) Mr George Hosking (of
Hosking & Russell, land agents)
subdivided the land at the corner of
Great North Rd and Browne Street.
This ultimately led to erection of
Excelsior Chambers. [Borough
Council minutes, 20/9/22] A corner of
his section was dedicated as a
road with his consent in June 1924,
to round the acute angle in the
road. In October, Council lawyers
advised that the brick shops being
built by Thomas Copsey for
Hosking should proceed, despite
no party wall, and that a definition
for party walls be included in the
By-laws. In November, Copsey
further advised that Hosking
intended putting a second story on
the building. [Borough Council minutes]
In the 1930s, Hosking’s business
was taken over by W J Tait, who in
1932 erected the Unity Buildings
below Hosking’s Building.
Cattle drives: In November 1922,
Councillor Haslam drew the
Borough Council’s attention to the
76
fact that cattle were often driven
through the Borough along the
main thoroughfare, in contravention
of By Law No. 4. This was a carry-
over from the cattle-drive days
started in the middle of the 19th
century.
“Our family lived at No. 9 Great
North Road, New Lynn, just over
the bridge from Avondale. I
remember, as a child, seeing herds
of cattle being driven down
Avondale hill, across the Whau
Bridge and down Portage Rd,
which was a stock route. The
drovers were on horseback with
long stock whips. Fascinating to
watch when one is a child. We had
a good view from our front gate.”
[memories of Doreen Shaw, letter to
author, 31/3/01]
Te Atatu Bridge proposal: Also in
November, Mr J W Paton first
approached the Borough Council
regarding his idea for a shorter
route to Te Atatu via the Rosebank
Peninsula and a bridge across the
Whau Creek. His Te Atatu
Community group grew to be the
Te Atatu Bridge League by 1924.
While Mayor Kinniburgh expressed
his opinion “that carrying out of the
scheme would be of great benefit
to both Te Atatu and Avondale”,
and that at the time the Borough
Council supported the scheme, as
the years passed the support
became fainter and grew coloured
by concerns over cost and the
lapsing economy of the time. By
1926, although West Auckland
authorities approved of the idea, it
was largely dead. The Great North
Road had been concreted – the
shorter route forgotten until the
North-Western Motorway
development in the 1950s.
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
In 1922, the Avondale Primary
School headmaster reported to his
Committee that “an attempt had
been made to burn the school
down.”
In 1923, the Education Board
“notified schools that the numerous
fires and attempts at incendiarism
in connection with School Buildings
was a matter of grave concern to
the Government. The police
Department reported that school
premises were frequently used at
nights by vagrants and loiterers,
and School Committees did not
always take reasonable steps to
prevent such practices.” [Ron Oates,
Avondale Primary School, 1870-1990,
1990.]
1923
New Town Hall: Borough Council
begin plans for new Town Hall. The
older one was duly jacked up and
moved to site next to where new
Hall built.
“Before the old Avondale hall was
moved there was a shop between it
and Binsted’s butchery. For a time
it was used by a tailor. In the early
1920s a Mr George used the
premises. He advertised his
services as a family photographer,
a picture framer and a maker of
guitars.” [Challenge of the Whau, p. 75]
Tram extensions: Trying for an
extension of the tram lines to
Avondale, the Borough Council
were advised by Auckland City’s
Town Clerk : “as the programme of
tram extensions had been fully
arranged for some years ahead it
was impracticable for the Council to
consider proposals regarding
77
extensions to Avondale.” [minutes,
Borough Council, 17/10/23]
Main Sewer: On 10 November, the
Borough Council held the “turning
of the sod ceremony” for the start
of work on Avondale’s main sewer.
Over the coming years, properties
were required to connect to the
system.
Second Billiard Saloon: (1856–
1860 Great North Road) In 1923,
the hall was built as a billiard
saloon. [Mike Butler report, Heritage
Planning, Auckland City Council, 2001]
Phillip Woods actually started his
business in an old farm shed
originally on the property owned by
the Collins family. Buying the shed
and the land from the Collins’,
Woods then had the shed
demolished, and the billiard hall
and barbers/tobacconists erected.
“An appreciation from Mr Phillip
James Woods for a Billiard Saloon
Licence was received. The
inspector of Police attached a
report that the applicant was a
person of good fame and
reputation and fit and proper to be
licensed as a saloon proprietor.
Licence granted.” [Avondale Borough
Council minutes, 14/3/23]
Woods was proprietor of the Billiard
Hall, except from around 1928 to
1931, when Alf Cole was listed in
the directories, until World War II,
After this, it was run by Edward
Grey (until early 1950s). Then
Alfred Billingham, through until the
mid 1960s, when it became known
simply as the Avondale Billiard
Saloon.
[Wises Directories, 1923 to 1970]
The by-laws concerning billiard
halls during the time of the
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
Avondale Borough Council were
fairly basic. The proprietor of such
an establishment needed to apply
to the Town Clerk in writing for a
licence, under clause 2 of the
eleventh schedule of the Municipal
Corporations Act 1920. Having
done that, and being approved, he
paid 40 shillings per annum for the
license.
Operating hours were between 6
am to 11 pm, and no one under the
age of 18 was allowed to enter or
remain in the billiards room unless
accompanied by a parent or
guardian. [Avondale Borough Council
By-Laws, 1925]
One Avondale resident told me that
he recalled the billiard hall had 6 or
8 tables, and was set way back off
the roadway down a narrow
corridor. Gambling in general took
place there. One type of billiards
remembered is “Russian Pool”,
played with a “toadstool” that lost
you the game if knocked over.
(Classic Russian Pool, a variant of
American and English versions,
involved its own specially designed
table with smaller pockets and
larger balls.)
1924
Charles Collier opened his
ironmongery store on the east side
of Great North Road, near the
Rosebank Road intersection,
where there had once been
paddocks and blacksmith’s sheds.
Later, he moved into the newly-built
Excelsior Chambers (1926/27).
Railway: “In 1924 … (due to
dangers of St Judes railway
crossing) … signs were erected
78
advising motorists that it was safer
to use the route via upper
Rosebank Road.” [Challenge of the
Whau, p. 74]
Auckland Chamber of Commerce
asked Avondale for contributions
toward advertising Auckland at the
British Empire Exhibition, but the
Borough Council stated they had
no funds to contribute. [20/2/24]
Telephone cables: The District
Telegraph engineer advised that
Great North Rd and St Georges Rd
were to be opened up to lay
underground telephone cables
[minutes, 2/4/24]. The Borough
Council asked simply that this be
completed prior to the concreting of
Great North Road, and it was.
Concrete Highway: At a meeting
in Avondale (Public Hall) on 9 May
1924, representatives of various
boroughs and town boards in
Western Auckland discussed laying
a concrete road along Great North
Road. [Anthony G. Flude, Henderson’s
Mill, 1977, p. 83]
It was a close-run thing. In May
1924, the Chairman of the Main
Highway Board declared that the
main highway (therefore the one to
be sealed) was via New North
Road, Station Rd and Brown St.
This suited the Mt Albert Borough
Council, but Avondale sent a
deputation down to Wellington in
June along with our West Auckland
neighbours to protest, “as (Great
North Road) is the route most
travelled in this district and is used
by 90% of the city traffic when the
road is in good order.” [minutes,
21/5/24]
The internal combustion engine
had been threatening for a long
time but local owners of motor cars
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
seldom strayed far from home
because of the continuing atrocious
condition of the roads that made
any lengthy journeys a major
expedition. In May 1924 the North
Suburban Railway and Highways
League, a local transport pressure
group, together with
representatives of the various
Boroughs and Town Boards
determined to have the main road
to Auckland made of a permanent
surface. Engineer’s reports and
costings were prepared and the
League waited on the Mayor of
Auckland who convened a meeting
of the City Council, Local Bodies,
and the Main Highways Board. The
whole scheme for “the concrete
road” was approved on February
28, 1925. [Tracks and Trains Through
Henderson, by David Lowe, p. 30]
Electricity: Auckland Electric
Power Board (AEPB) states that
when their mains reach Avondale it
is proposed to supply within a
radius of ½ mile from the Post
Office. [Avondale Borough Council
minutes, 6/8/24]
October 1924 -- George Thomas
Chandler was appointed the
borough’s first (and only) Traffic
Inspector (wages £1 per week), as
well as the Ranger and Pound
Keeper (£1) and Noxious Weeds
Inspector (also £1.). As Traffic
Inspector, Chandler was in charge
of policing the speed limit (15 mph
in the Shopping Centre), parking
(no parking allowed on Great North
Road after the concreting in 1925),
no smoking on buses in the
Avondale Borough, and by-laws
related to vehicle lights.
As the Ranger, he frequently had
differences with Constable Douglas
of the Avondale Police Station
79
regarding Douglas’ cow being
impounded. These led to “foul
words” and a civil action, ending by
the Borough Council demanding
the removal of Constable Douglas
by the Commissioner of Police.
The Borough Council gave
Chandler a stop watch, an electric
torch, and by 1926 he had his own
office and a motorcycle. He also
asked for a commission on fines,
but the Borough Council instead
gave him a wage rise, all up £5 per
week for all his duties. Mr Stokes
his assistant had a wage increase
from 8/- to 16/- per week. (Stokes
later became the ranger and pound
keeper).
31 October 1924 – official opening
of the new Avondale Town Hall.
“The new building which has just
been completed is a handsome
and capacious hall. It is of solid
concrete construction, reinforced
and has a dancing floor space of
68ft by 50ft and a stage 50ft by 26
ft. A handsome gallery is
approached by a wide concrete
staircase. It has a capacious
vestibule, supper room, cloak
rooms etc. and is lighted
throughout with electric light. The
body of the hall has seating
accommodation for five hundred
persons and the gallery 220. A
strong room has been built in to
accommodate the books and
records of the council office.”
[Auckland Star, 30 October 1924, from
Picture Theatres of Auckland]
£5000 was borrowed by the
Borough Council to build the Town
Hall initially. After a costing blow-
out, Sinclair O’Connor was asked
to redesign the Town Hall to
specifications within the £5000
budget (Avondale residents refused
to authorise additional loans for the
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
project.) In April 1924, the Borough
Council managed to secure a
further £500 loan for the project, to
cover building of the galley inside.
The movies: Harry Empson
showed motion pictures there until
August 1927, when he on-sold his
business to a Mr Frederick William
Meikle of Opotiki.
In a letter to the council dated 25th
October 1927 a Mr A. Nunns,
Council property inspector, wrote:
"Mr Empson frequently complained
that he was making a bare profit
out of the picture show. Mr Meikle
has not made more than $30
profit during the seven weeks he
has been running the
entertainment. It is of course
generally recognised that the past
year or two have been difficult
times for working people. There
has been a great deal of
unemployment and money has
been scarce. This is the chief
cause of the poor profits. Then
again the increased traffic facilities
to the city has been the means of
taking away a great deal of his
patronage, many people preferring
to take a run into town to see a
show.” [Jan Grefstad, Picture Theatres of
Auckland]
On 14 November 1924, the Pooley
Garage burned down (2059 Great
North Rd). Destroyed totally was a
large motor-bus garage, 2 frontage to Great North Road free
passenger buses, 2 heavy motor
lorries (one a Republic lorry owned
by CT Pooley himself), 2 motor
cars (one, a 6-cylinder Cleveland,
valued at £550 but only insured for
£200, owned by Constable
Douglas) , 2 motor-bus tops (1
owned by Mr M McCarthy, listed in
the NZ Herald as “taxi proprietor of
Avondale”) and the neighbouring
80
house in which lived Lawrence
Tierney and his family. He, his wife
and 10 children were able to
escape unharmed, but weren’t able
to save any possessions.
The front of the garage was
occupied by the General Omnibus
Company, a firm only in existence
3 months, owned by Messrs E R
Alexander and G R Horrocks.
The main telephone and telegraph
wires north of Avondale to
Helensville ran in front of the
garage, and these were seriously
affected by the flames. The
services northward from Avondale
were thus temporarily cut off. [NZ
Herald, from M Butler report, Heritage
planning, Auckland City, 2001]
A letter from Mr B Ball in 1926
drew Council’s attention to the
“unsightly appearance of the debris
lying on the site of the livery stables
which were burnt down. “ Notice
served on Pooley to remove small
shed and clean up all rubbish lying
on the section. [minutes, 20/1/26]
1925
C T Pooley owned stables behind
the Avondale Hotel/Post Office in
Wingate St, and was the main
carrier to both the Avondale Roads
Board and the Borough Council. In
February 1925 he offered “66ft
for improvements on condition that
any further land be purchased for
£5 per foot.” It was resolved “that
the offer be accepted and that a
further 30 ft be purchased with a
view to making a civic square.”
[minutes, 18/2/25]
The “civic square” idea didn’t
happen exactly as hoped. In 1957,
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
part of the land was cut into by
Auckland City to make a parking
bay, and by the late 1960s shops
had been built on the site.
The Mainstreet Plans of 2001
included as part of their Stage One
project a community square at the
north end of this property, so in a
way the Avondale Borough
Council’s idea came to pass. The
Avondale Town Centre opened
on July 20, 2002.
Racecourse: “Exception to a
statement by the Hon. R F Bollard,
Minister of Internal affairs, that it
might be advisable for the
Avondale Jockey Club to hold its
meetings on Ellerslie Racecourse,
thus doing away with the local
racecourse, was expressed by
Mayor Tait at meeting of Borough
Council last evening. The council
was practically unanimous on the
point that it would be a detriment to
the district if the racecourse were
closed, as the local residents had
always had the free use of the
grounds for recreation and sports.”
The proposal had been to cancel
the tote licence for the Jockey
Club. Bollard later denied this
intention or proposal in March that
year. [NZ Herald, 19/2/25]
Earlier, in 1921, the Avondale
Primary school Committee, “in view
of the great benefit parents and
children of the district received from
the use of the racecourse grounds
respectfully urged the Minister of
Education to use his influence in
the direction of keeping these
ground intact for the people of
Avondale.” [Ron Oates, Avondale
Primary School 1870-1990, 1990.]
81
The Concrete Highway : Great
North Road. “There was a great
deal of development during 1925.
At a meeting in Auckland on
February 28th, it was approved by
all the town boards involved, that
they would build a concrete road
over the often impassable clay road
from Oakley Creek at Point
Chevalier, all the way to the end of
the Henderson Township. Each
Town Board's ratepayers bore the
cost for their own section of the
new highway.” [Henderson’s Mill,
Anthony Flude, 1977]
“Work on the construction of the
first section of the concrete
highway at Oakley Creek to Lincoln
Road, Henderson, is to be
commenced on Monday, when the
paving gangs will start operations
in the Avondale district. The point
of commencement will be at Blake
St Avondale, and the paving will be
pushed on as far as the Whau
Creek bridge, after which the
section from Blake St to Oakley
Creek will be undertaken.
“The form of construction will be a
complete departure from anything
yet done in New Zealand. The
flanges of the roadway would be
arched, the edges being thicker
than the centre of the roadway,
thus giving more strength at the
point where the greatest weight of
traffic is supported. The system is
based on recent tests carried out in
Illinois.”
Work began March 2, 1925. New
Lynn section started approx. June
1, Glen Eden September 1,
Henderson, December 1. [NZ Herald,
28/2/25]
“The excavation of the bed for the
concrete highway from Avondale to
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
Henderson commenced at the
beginning of the month, and a start
to be made on laying the concrete
in about 10 days. A new concrete-
mixer is to be employed on the job.
[NZ Herald, 20/3/25]
In November, C J Doncaster drew
the Council’s attention to “danger of
children through riding scooters on
the concrete road.” [minutes, 5/11/25]
Mr Eric Waterfield said that the
earliest casualty on the new
concrete road was one Barney
Clews, son of Bernard Clews
(resident on Great North Rd,
secretary of local NZ Labour Party).
Young Barney apparently, like most
kids those days, took advantage of
the new smooth surface to play on
with his trolley. He was struck by a
motor car and killed. [Recollection of
Eric Waterfield to L Truttman, April 2001]
While there is no record of the
death of a Barney Clews from 1925
to 1945, there must have been
some near misses on the new
surface, as special mention was
made in the December minutes of
the Borough Council.
Mr Ernie Croft recalls that when
Cracroft Street was fully formed
and sealed, from being just a dirt
track choked by grass and weeds,
children from a family named
Wilson would often take the
opportunity to ride their trolleys
from the top of Cracroft Street (the
railway line had no built-up
pedestrian crossing in those days –
not until around 1959 – so Cracroft
St looked much like Chalmers
Street today), and glide all the way
down the steep incline to Great
North Road. One day, Mr Croft
said, they hit a telegraph pole
situated right across Great North
Road at the bottom of the hill.
82
[Conversation with Mr E Croft, 19 July
2001]
School Dental Clinic: The
Avondale Primary School Board
thanked the Borough Council on
16/5/23 for allowing them to use
the Blake St hall as a dental clinic.
According to the 75th Jubilee
booklet for Blockhouse Bay
Primary School (1995), a Nurse
Benn was the first dental nurse
appointed in the Auckland
Province, for Avondale and
Avondale South, in 1924.
Electric streetlights: First electric
street lamps installed July [Avondale
Borough Council minutes, 17/6/25]
Telephone exchange: 9 February
1925 – manual telephone
exchange opened in Avondale with
just 28 subscribers. By 1929, this
has increased to 160. [From speech
by H.G.R Mason, MP, at opening of
Avondale Post Office, 1938]
Third bank: The BNZ re-opened
an agency for the third time on 20
July 1925 at 1996 Great North
Road (Allely Building). This time,
the bank lasted until 27 January
1942. In 1956, the Bank of New
South Wales would use these
premises.
Limited banking facilities were
offered to the public of Avondale
and district by the BNZ in a small
agency near the police station
before World War II. [Western Leader,
16/6/65]
Motor buses: “By 1925 a number
of motor bus companies were
operating from Avondale. They
included the General Omnibus
Company, The Mount Eden Bus
Company, the Progressive Bus
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
Company, and Thomas’ Buses.”
[Challenge of the Whau, p. 71]
Board finances: On October 11, a
public meeting was called by the
Avondale Progressive Association,
bringing into question the Board
finances and roading policy. Calls
came for Council and Mayor to
resign, but rebuffed. Tiarks and
Pendlebury led the attack,
concerning the state of Avondale
South (Blockhouse Bay) roads. [NZ
Herald, October 1925]
Arthur F Maxwell had taken over
Robert Allely’s business at 2000
Great North Road by around 1925.
According to the memories of
several I have interviewed for this
project, he was the earliest chemist
remembered, “a dapper man with a
little moustache,” the archetypal
chemist in many respects.
He was not the only chemist in
Avondale in this period, however.
With the building of the Excelsior
Chambers to the north of the
Primary School, came a Harwood
Clifford Hemus (until the
Depression), and a little later Mr E
A Parr and his successor William
G Watson in the Fearon Building
(from the mid 1930s.) There would
never be a monopoly again, as
there had been for Allely.
Also in the mid 1920s, Ernest
“Sam” C Breeze started a drapers
shop in the Station Store at the
corner of Roberton Road. By 1928
he’d moved to the Fearon Building,
as well, according to Mr Eric
Waterfield, also running other
businesses in the Waikato and
Kaikohe. He apparently fell victim
to the Depression of the early
1930s – Mr Waterfield recalls that
Mr Breeze’s last home was a tent
83
he’d raised on an empty section in
French Bay.
Shop licence fees: In December
1925, R&W Hellaby and Fearon
Bros. both complained to the
Borough Council regarding the high
licence fees for butchers shops
which were £5 in Avondale
compared to 5/- in the City. The
Council reduced the fees down to
10/-.
Other licence fees for shops in
Avondale (1927):
Bakers licence
10/-
Tea rooms licence
- where accommodation not
exceeding 20
10/-
- exceeding 20 but not 40
£1
- exceeding 40 £1
,10/-
Fish shops
10/-
All others, including hawkers
for 1 year or portion of year
£1
Billiard saloons: Later in
December 1925, the Borough
Council sent a letter to the local
billiard saloons, asking them to
close on Christmas Day.
In the mid-1920s, Mr Val Hickman
came to live on Great North Road,
at No. 2132, beside what would
become the Catholic Church and
school. He disappears from the
postal directories sometime in the
early 1960s. Local residents recall
how he would sell locals milk and
cream straight from the cow.
[Conversation with Mrs Margaret Basset,
26/5/2001]
Around 1925, the “blind avenue”
that led straight down from Great
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
North Road to the racecourse,
once called Leslie Avenue for a few
years, became Racecourse
Parade. In 1926/27, the Avondale
Timber Company set up business
on what is now the land occupied
by Housing New Zealand units and
Suburbs Rugby Club rooms. The
business was managed by one Mr
Wyniford V Kelsall (who lived down
Racecourse Parade near the
timber mill), and owned by the
Gardner timber milling family which
had been in business since the late
nineteenth century, milling in the
King Country started by George
Gardner (1838 – 1898).
Two women ran the business in
Masterton and Avondale, “Aunt”
Fanny and “Aunt” Alice Gardner,
under the company name George
Gardner & Sons. [Conversation with Mr
Ernie Croft, 19 July 2001. Mr Croft has
descent from the Gardner family]
The business didn’t last very long.
Avondale Timber Company
subdivided the land in early 1927,
and was gone by 1929. The
Suburbs Rugby Club buildings are
likely on the old Timber Company’s
land.
From around 1925, T. (Tommy)
Collins started a fruiterer’s
business in the Bluck Building in
Brown St. By 1928, he was also a
butcher there, and by 1929 had a
grocer’s shop there too, each one
adjoining the others. He continued
this versatile business threesome
until World War II, when he
downsized to just being a grocer,
and disappears from the directories
by 1947.
How did this man manage to keep
up the pace of simultaneously
running three shops at once? The
84
walls between the three shops had
a hole in the brick interior each, big
enough for him to hop through
from shop to shop as the
customers required. [Conversation
with Mr Murray Fearon, 16 July 2001]
1926
“The construction of 2 large blocks
of
shops will be started next month at
the
corner of Great North Road and
Rosebank Road” [NZ Herald, 19/1/26]
This would have been the
Excelsior Chambers.
In April, the Borough Council
approved Hosking’s subdivision of
his land at the corner of Great
North Road and Rosebank Road.
This opened the way for the
building of the Excelsior Chambers
along Great North Road. [minutes,
7/4/26]
Motor Buses: “Meanwhile in
Auckland City during 1924 there
exploded upon an unsuspecting
public and an unprepared
Tramways Board the motor bus,
releasing a period of chaotic city
transport. Private motor bus
operators engaged in unbridled
rivalry with each other and
Tramways, turning Queen Street
into a circus and giving the public
unbelievable services with price
wars for two years until the City
Council brought in a programme of
licensing that once again brought
order to the streets.
The year was 1926 and with the
spice gone out of the business
many of the bus operators were
happy to sell out to the City
Council. Others went further afield
to search for passengers and their
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
exodus from the central city trade
coincided with the completion of
“the concrete road” to Henderson.
The Railways Annual Report
issued in 1926 showed that
Henderson sold an all time high at
151 thousand passenger journeys,
but within a year, with the motor
bus firmly established, this figure
tumbled to 89,761 and a complete
new era in railroading was begun”.
[Tracks and Trains Through Henderson,
by David Lowe, pp 30-31]
Ray H Hieatt (brother of Charles
Hieatt, grocer store) notified the
Borough Council of his intention of
starting a motorbus service on
25/1/1926.
At the same time, Auckland City
Traffic Department drew the
Borough’s attention to the
“irregularity of the Avondale buses”
and asked the Borough Council to
see that the buses left the City at
scheduled times.
Kerbside “bowsers”: Also in 1926
saw the appearance of kerbside
fuel pumps at service garages. C A
Trigg applied for a permit “to erect
a Kerbside Benzine Pump” at his
garage on Great North Road
(granted) [minutes, 3/2/26]
Later that month, British Imperial
Oil Co (in 1927 to become the Shell
Company of New Zealand Ltd)
asked for the Borough regulations
in relation to kerbside pumps. The
Chief Inspector of Explosives of the
Department of Labour wrote saying
his department were in favour of
tank installation for petrol storage.
Suddenly, all over the city the
matter of petrol pump regulations
became an issue, Newmarket
85
Borough calling for “uniformity “. By
August George Stuart had a pump
at his garage also (Great North
Road. H M Waygood applied for his
kerbside pump in July (granted).
1926 saw the appearance of the
GOS Station at the five-roads
intersection (present day
roundabout). This was to become
the Bowzer Benzine Station by
1928 (Bowzer was the tradename
of the American-designed pump,
and the slang of the time: “kerbside
bowsers”), and by 1929 the Central
Service Station, run by Albert
Graven. [Wise’s Directories]
According to Mr Ernie Croft, Albert
Graven’s original name was Albert
Grubnitz (perhaps changed due to
WWI anti-German feeling?) Ernest
Croft senior helped build the
service station, which was situated
on land formerly owned by Charlie
Pooley, but seemed to have been
sold off after the 1925 fire.
Avondale lore has it that Graven
won the Irish Sweepstake, which
helped set him up in business. In
those days, the Sweepstake was
worth around £20,000 to £30,000.
[Recollections of Mr Eric Waterfield to
author, April 2001]
By the mid 1960s, Graven had left
the business, and it had become a
Mobil service station. In 1989 it was
replaced by the completion of the
new bigger Mobil service station
across the road (by St Ninians).
The site is now a coffee restaurant,
after having been a collectibles
shop.
Sub-division by-laws fail: By
1926, the Borough Council was
finding that some of their by-laws
were unenforceable. Mr McLiver
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
took the Borough to court and
overturned the 1 rood restriction on
subdivisions, and the Council
changed the by-law to restrict to at
least 1/6 of an acre instead of ¼.
Their lawyers also advised that the
15mph speed limit in the Shopping
Centre was unenforceable as well,
and the Traffic Inspector was
advised to “prosecute with
discretion”.
The postal service in May 1926
was found to be “inadequate” by
the council, as box clearance was
not completed in time for dispatch
to the city. The council urged a
clearance by 6.30 a.m. in time for
the 7 a.m. train. The next month
the postmaster replied, saying that
clearances were by 8.30 pm, in
time for dispatch on the evening
trains.
One of the Borough Councillors
from this period was Paul
Richardson (1882-1961), whose
father came to New Zealand during
the Coromandel gold rush of the
nineteenth century.
Soon after marrying Margaret, the
couple moved to Herne Bay.
Margaret then noticed an
advertisement for land on sale in
New Windsor (then being divided
into 10 acre sections). Going out
from Herne Bay to see the land in
pony and trap, Margaret came back
to tell her husband the property,
called Pine Park, “was as close to
heaven as you would ever get.”
Paul Richardson worked for the
tramways, and would ride a horse
from Pine Park to Mt Albert
regularly.
The family lived there for a time,
before moving to 6 Roberton Road.
Nobody walked past Paul
Richardson without saying hello. In
86
1955, he was on the ASB Board of
Trustees.
The Richardson’s son, Ken,
became the longest-serving District
Court judge in New Zealand, a
member of the Masonic Lodge, and
a University Blue in boxing (trained
by Mrs Lorna Gagen nee
Richardson’s future husband, Cyril
Gagen). [Conversation with Mr and Mrs
Gagen, and Mrs Shirley Fleming, 15 June
2001].
Board finances: In mid-1926, the
Borough Council was seeking to
reduce their staff in an effort to
save money. They laid off two,
including the Borough Engineer, Mr
Henshall. However, there was soon
an outcry from the public, worried
that Council works would no longer
be carried out. The Council held a
meeting on 15 July to discuss the
situation with Henshall. When
Henshall didn’t arrive at the
meeting, a couple of Councillors
went looking for him, and found him
“in a state of intoxication” in the
Council’s yard on Blake St. He was
sacked again, and finished work on
31 July. [minutes]
The Avondale Beautifying
Society, which since Roads Board
days had tried to campaign for
flower beds dotted around
Avondale streets, and to have new
dedicated street corners planted
with gardens, were compelled to
disband in June 1926 “owing to
lack of support.” The Borough
Council moved to have a “returned
soldier to plant flowering shrubs on
the beds kept lately by the
Beautifying Society” (at top of
Brown St by the railway station).
[minutes, 21/6/26]
The Concrete Highway: Right up
until the dissolution of the Borough
Council in 1927, no responsibility
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
was accepted by the Borough
council for repairs and
maintenance of the new concrete
Great North Road, claiming it had
not been “taken over” from the
Main Highways Board. In 1926, the
New North Road-Station Road-
Brown St route was also concreted.
In 1926, rubbish collection was
inaugurated for the central
Avondale area.
Noise: A. Syers and others
complained of “disturbance at night
to the neighbouring residents by
Progressive Bus Co’s Garage by
the running of the Motor Engines
and hammering in the late hours of
the night and early hours of the
morning. W J Daly and other
residents complained of the Grand
Omnibus Co’s garage noise
between 10 pm and 6 am.
In October the Lynndale Garage
on Great North Road had a closing
order served on them for sanitary
reasons. This site was later that of
Crawford’s Garage in the 1930s.
On Armistice Day, the Borough
called for “2 minutes silence and
the suspension of all vehicular
traffic”.
Whale’s Dairy was built c.1926,
next to the Town Hall. Mrs Rose
Whale is listed in the directories
from 1926 as either a confectioner
or a fruiterer, until Whales Dairy is
listed in 1930-32.
The Whale family also had a bread
run, in competition with the
Avondale Bakery at the other end
of Avondale. Mr Bob Browne
recalled helping on Saturday
mornings and during the school
holidays, meeting up with Mr Whale
87
in Waterview, and then covering
Roberton, Rosebank, and even up
to New Windsor in the 1930s and
1940s.
Mr Whale would provide for the
movie-goers in the Picture Theatre
next door by making up trays of ice
creams and refreshments and
taking them into the cinema.
The Whale’s only daughter,
Margaret, married Eldred Stebbing,
who ran a recording business in
Methuen Road and made 45rpm
records from home.
By 1956, the dairy had been sold to
P H Martin, and then to Ray
Rummins by 1958.
My mother had her first job on
arriving in New Zealand in June
1958 working at the Grosvenor
Dairy as the dairy was known until
recently (now called Eftpos). She
told me often of the Saturday night
movie goers streaming out of the
cinema in a rush during the
interval, crushing into the small
dairy, buying their refreshments,
then hurrying back to the cinema
and their seats in time for Part Two
of the presentation there.
When Jan Grefstad took over the
cinema in 1966, so he told me via
e-mail, he had the candy bar
specially built so his customers no
longer had to leave the cinema to
get their ices.
A further note on dairies in
Avondale: my mother said that
there was a by-law concerning the
sale of milk, stipulating that a dairy
had to have enough milk on hand
to sell up to 4pm each day. When
my mother ran her own business
for a time in Taylors Street in the

late 1950s-early 1960s, she was
once reported on as having run out
of milk to sell before the deadline
by an irate customer.
1927
Amalgamation with Auckland
City
“It is the dirtiest suburb of all
Auckland’s suburbs, the most
bankrupt due to muddle on the part
of past administrations. The
engineer has admitted that he has
never been allowed to complete
any work. For five years I have
fought their battles to get efficient
administration. Some of
residents have my deepest respect;
others I would not touch with a
forty-foot pole.” [H Tiarks, last Avondale
Borough meeting, 18/8/27, as reported by
Auckland Star]
Royal Visit: The Borough’s Works
Committee considered in February
1927 the purchase of a banner “for
erection in Queen St on the
occasion of the visit by HRH The
Duke and Duchess of York.” The
cost for a 20ft X 6ft banner, with
words “Avondale Borough extends
greetings”: £3, 15 /-.
From March the Auckland Electric
Power Board used the Public Hall
ante-room on Saturday mornings
as a receiving office, for 5/- hire per
week.
In March also, John Tait stated to
the Council that “he had no
intention of offering himself as a
candidate for the Mayoralty at the
forthcoming election, and wished to
make a personal statement. In the
first place he reminded the
councillors present that when it had
been decided to grant an
honorarium to the Mayor he had
Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
stated at the time that he would
refund the money to the Borough in
some shape or form. His first idea
had been to erect a shelter shed on
the Great North Road near the Post
Office, but had now decided to
present to the Borough a Children’s
playground. With this object in view
Mr Tait had purchased a piece of
land at the corner of Rosebank
Road and High Street which he
intended to equip and hand over
the titles to the council.” This was
later to be known as Tait Park. The
section cost £200, equipment
(bought by Tait, Council paying ½
cost – swings, slide, sandpit) £200.
[Minutes, 1927]
the
For a number of years, this was
used as a playground, until 1977-
1978 when the section was sliced
in half for the construction of the
Ash Street extension.
By April, the Excelsior Building
was in existence, as a Mr W Wilde
and four other ratepayers
complained to the Council
regarding the footpath opposite
their shops there [minutes, 6/4/27].
In May, H. Tiarks erected a stall to
sell produce outside the Spot Cash
store (Amos’) to raise funds for the
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
Women and Children.
In June, a Mr A Cummings drew
the Council’s attention to the
“dangerous corner at intersection of
Rosebank Road and Great North
Road, “ and suggested the erection
of a “Cross Road” notice. Council
voted only to receive the letter.
[15/6/27]
Burglary at Avondale –
Tobacconist shop entered –
Goods worth £50 stolen.
88
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
There is no sign of abatement in
the epidemic of burglaries in
Auckland and suburbs. During
Tuesday night, the shop of Mr P
Wood, tobacconist, of Avondale,
was broken into, and goods to the
value of about £50 stole.
The shop is one of a recently-
opened block of lock-up shops at
the corner of Great North Road and
Brown St. Mr Wood left the shop
locked at 8 o’clock on Tuesday
evening and on arriving at 8 o’clock
yesterday morning found the door
had been forced by a jemmy.
The burglars made a good haul,
taking away a large amount of
cigarettes and tobacco, razors and
toilet articles. Only the shop
received attention, the hairdressing
salon in the rear not being
disturbed. [NZ Herald, 9/6/1927, from M
Butler report, Heritage Planning, Auckland
City, 2001]
In July, the “News” newspaper
published scurrilous comment
against the new mayor H. Tiarks.
Edward E Copsey, head of the
Concerned Citizens Committee,
had already studied the “Greater
Auckland” movement (of
amalgamation of all parts of the
Auckland isthmus), and now
organised a petition of 1150
electors calling for a poll on
amalgamation with Auckland City.
The poll was duly held on 13
August, and a majority of 715 voted
in favour of amalgamation.
On 17 August at a Borough Council
regular meeting, Tiarks stated he
took the poll as “a vote of no
confidence” in himself, and
resigned, along with 3 councillors.
89
The remaining 4 had no quorum,
and could no longer legally transact
business. Copsey was co-opted on,
and nominated as Mayor on 23
August. The last meeting of the
Borough Council was 31 August
1927. On 1 September, Avondale
was officially gazetted as having
amalgamated with Auckland City,
and increased the then area of the
City by 40%.
Stuart’s garage was in Great
North Road between Racecourse
Parade and Rosebank Road.
[Challenge of the Whau, p.74]
18 August 1927 – “Fire, which
broke out at about 11.30 last
evening, destroyed Stuart’s service
garage, Great North Road,
Avondale, together with eight of the
nine cars which were stored in it.
Residents in the locality were
awakened by the sound of an
explosion, probably caused by the
bursting of a tin of benzine.
“The building was of galvanised
iron with wooden frame-work and
when the local volunteer brigade
under Superintendent Watson
arrived, it was enveloped in flames.
Stuart’s garage is the largest in the
district, and is situated a few yards
past the Avondale Post Office. It is
understood it was closed up for the
night early in the evening, and the
cause of the outbreak is a
mystery.” [NZ Herald, 19/8/27]
Station Store: By 1927, the owner
of the two-storeyed shop at #25
Rosebank Road beside Roberton
Road, Mr R W Kirkpatrick (son of R
S Kirkpatrick who ran Rosebank
Bakery from 1903-1905), was
complaining of a lack of business
with trade having gone [from
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930
railway station area] to the main
Great North Road. Blame was laid
on increasing use of private motor
cars as averse to railway travel. In
a letter dated 22 November 1927 to
the City Council’s Town Clerk, his
solicitor wrote:
“The property at present …
consists of a large shop and living
accommodation, together with
various sheds, out buildings of
quite recent erection, on a large
section.
“The place has been empty about
12 months and the probability is, it
will continue to remain so, all the
trade apparently having gone to the
main road.
The owner proposes … to divide
the land into two equal parts, to
have the present 2-storey building
back from both frontages and make
sundry alterations in the way of
turning the shop into living rooms
and cutting off the single storey
alterations. On the inside section
he proposes to erect a dwelling
house of 5 rooms.”
[Mike Butler report, Heritage Planning,
Auckland City Council, 2001]
These alterations were not done,
and the site remains a shop to this
day.
According to Mr Ernie Croft, 1927
was the year Rosebank Road was
surfaced with hot tarseal mix, and
was part of a pioneer use of that
type of bitumen mix on Auckland
roads. Young Ernie had a trolley to
which he had fitted a sail made out
of a couple of pieces of sacking,
and would go gliding down the new
surface having a wonderful time.
Until one day, he met up with Alby
Mason and his bread cart coming
along Avondale Road. Ernie was
coming down the road, Mason
90
coming up, and Mason’s horse
shied and bolted at sight of Ernie’s
trolley.
[Conversation with Mr E. Croft, 19 July
2001]
1928
The Salvation Army Hall was
opened on 27 February 1928. This
was just a few weeks after the first
officers were appointed to
Avondale (12/1/1928). The property
ledger of the time records that the
section in Great North Road was
bought as early as 15 September
1915. The erection of the building
in late 1927 was delayed “owing to
the difficulty of securing building
contract by reason of this suburb
having recently been taken over by
the City Council, and existing by
laws being at some variance”
[Salvation Army Property Board minutes].
“The block of land was purchased
in 1915 with the idea that Avondale
would be a likely place for a corps
opening within the next 10 years.
The land is excellently situated –
right in the centre of what is
considered to be a fine suburb.”
The Corps decided in 1924 to start
preparations to build the hall – the
architects were Gray, Young &
Norton, built by the Property
Department of the Salvation Army.
[Property Records, Salvation Army
Archives].
The completed building cost £1,483
, 5d. On 3 April 1966, a new
frontage on the hall was opened.
The hall was sold and officially
closed on 11 December 1976,
when the corps was transferred to
Hugh Brown Drive, New Lynn.
[Above from e-mail to author, written by
Major Alan Robb, Territorial Archivist, The
Salvation Army, Wellington, 2/4/2001]
 Heart of the Whau – part 3 – Once a Borough 1900-1930

1929
Avondale Picture Theatre: Mr
Meikle, manager of the movie
sessions held at the Town Hall,
regularly reported to the Auckland
City Council. By now, the Delta
Theatre in New Lynn and the
Ambassador Theatre in Point
Chevalier were up and running,
and taking cinema goers from
Avondale. And then, there was the
advent of the ‘talkies …’

"Herewith I submit a schedule of

my gross receipts for the year
ending 30th September 1929. The
current week is approximated only.

The phenomenal figures for the first

two quarters of the year are wholly
due to the fact that the Delta
Theatre at New Lynn, one mile
distant, was closed during the
whole of that time …
At the end of April the talking
pictures were first heard and
although they did not cause a
sudden drop in my receipts, as they
became more popular the drop
became more apparent and when,
some five weeks later, the New
Lynn Theatre reopened, there was
practically nothing left over after
paying expenses, some weeks'
operations resulting in a heavy loss
…
The opening of the new
Ambassadors Theatre at the Point
has also drawn a number of my
patrons from the Waterview district.
[from Picture Theatres of Auckland, by Jan
Grefstad,]

91